Biology 345-01 (02): (Field Botany) is a course in plant
taxonomy, plant geography, and plant ecology. Students will learn
the principles of plant classification and, through first hand
experience, the techniques of plant identification, collection, and
preservation. Students also will be introduced to the fields of
plant geography and plant ecology. Particular attention will be
given to the taxonomy, geography, and ecology of plants growing in the
North Central United States. Weekly field trips
to nearby habitats will enable students to become familiar with many
local
species. This is a course for anyone who enjoys plants and wants
to
learn to identify them and learn more about them, as well as for
students with a scientific interest in plant taxonomy and
ecology.
TEXTS: Woodland (2000) Contemporary Plant Systematics and Vankat
(1992) The Natural Vegetation of North America, (both on
reserve), and other readings to be assigned.

LABORATORY/FIELD TRIPS/DISCUSSIONS: Th 8:30 - 11:15
p.m. During September, October, and early November and as long as
the weather permits,
we will take field trips during the weekly laboratory time. These
will
be local botanizing trips and will provide students with the
opportunity to
develop and practice their identification skills in the field.
Later in the term, when the weather becomes more severe, labs will
consist principally of indoor activities and will include trips to such
places as the herbarium and greenhouses at the University of
Minnesota. A portion of some labs will be used to discuss
assigned readings.
WRITING, EXAMINATIONS, AND GRADING: In addition to a
comprehensive final, there will be 3 exams during the course. The exams
during the course will cover lecture and reading material for 3-5 week
periods and will be worth
100 points. The final will be worth 200 points. In
addition, there
will be one quiz on botanical vocabulary worth 50 points. All
students
will be required to make a botanical collection of at least 30 species
and
this will be worth 100 points (Due Nov. 24). Students will write
several
memos to one another on issues raised in the course. In addition,
students
will write a short final paper (5-8 pages) describing the ecology and
research
of a particular plant species which they have researched in the
botanical
literature. Students also will present their paper orally to the
class.
Students will be evaluated on their performance on exams (65%), the
quality
of their written and oral presentations (15%), the completeness and
quality
of their botanical collections (15%), and their participation in class
discussions
and memo writing (5%). Attendance at lab/field trips is required,
and
any missed labs/field trips will result in a 20 point deduction (per
lab/field
trip missed) from the semester total of points. Regular
attendance
at lectures is highly recommended. The final exam is scheduled for
Friday,
December 17, 10:30-12:30. Students must arrange their end of the
semester
travel plans so that they can take the exam when it is scheduled. Note:
if
you have need for special test-taking, note-taking, or other
accommodation,
please discuss this with Professor Davis.

Background: The foundation of plant taxonomy are collections
of individual plants. These collections usually consist of dried,
pressed, and mounted specimens which also contain detailed information
regarding where each specimen was collected. This information is
usually attached to the specimen
sheet on a card. The mounted specimens are usually kept in cabinets in
an
herbarium. Some of the world's largest herbaria contain several million
specimens.
The specimens are used by taxonomists, plant ecologists, plant
geographers
and other scientists. Herbarium collections contain very important
historical
information regarding the distribution of plants around the world. This
information
can be of great scientific and practical value as well, e.g., helping
scientists
identify regions where certain valuable medicinal plants may be found.

Details: Following instructions provided during lab, you will
collect and press at least specimens from at least 30 species of
vascular plants. Specimens be must complete, that is, contain both
vegetative (leaves and twigs)
and reproductive parts (flowers and/or fruits). Since few vascular
plants
in Minnesota still have leaves, flowers, and fruit after November 1
(except
conifers), you should try to do most of your collecting during
September and
early October. Be sure to write down the collection location and date
on
a slip of paper or tape for each specimen and attach the paper/tape to
the
respective specimens before pressing. A specimen lacking this
information cannot be included in your collection. After being
instructed in lab, you will select five of your specimens to mount. You
are responsible for identifying each of the specimens you include in
your collection.

Due: Prior to Thanksgiving. Your collection should be
accompanied with a typed sheet of paper containing a list of your
specimens (family
and species name) ordered to correspond with the order of your
specimens.
All specimens should have a fully completed label. Unmounted specimens
and
their respective labels should be place individually in folded sheets
of
newspaper.

Assignment: Research the literature on a particular
plant species and prepare both a written and oral presentation
describing distinctive aspects of the ecology of the species as well as
the focus of much of the ecological research currently being conducted
on the species.

Objectives: The purpose of this assignment is to enable you
to
explore a particular species in detail; to become acquainted with some
plant
ecological research; to help develop your skills in accessing the
primary
literature; to give you practice writing in a scientific style and in
presenting
scientific material in a seminar format.

To fulfill this assignment, you will need to complete the following
steps:

1) Select a species.

You may select any species found in habitats that we have studied in
the class. Certain species have been studied by researchers more than
others
however, and obviously it will be easier if you select one of these.
Some
of the species for which abundant literature exists are listed below.
However,
you are in no way obligated to select one of these.

Using standard bibliographic reference tools, including computer
searches and the web, identify articles about your species. The hardest
part will
be identifying the first few articles. Then, it should be easy, since
these
articles will cite others.

3) Obtain copies of your articles.

For articles in journals other than those at Mac, you have two
options. Find a library that subscribes to the journal, e.g., at the
University of Minnesota, and go there and copy or read the article. Or,
request the article through inter-library loan.

4. Read the articles and prepare a written review (6-9 pages) of the
ecology of and research on your species. (Remember that all scientific
names either need to be underlined or be in italics.) This is a review
paper and thus it
will not be in the form a standard scientific paper (with an
Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion). Nevertheless, it
should have a clear organization and include a few subheadings. You
should cite all sources in the text of your paper using the following
format: